It's the LITTLE things...

The whole summer passed

I cannot believe that it has been a full 2 months since I have touched this blog! Phew! We have done so much and there is even more to report. What a summer and it has yet to end!

Alexander starts kindergarten this year. Oh me, oh my! And after months of thought and deliberation, we have decided that I will be homeschooling him this year. It wasn't our first choice (it was our third), but it's the one that works for our lives, currently. I am so excited. I have the curriculum books on hand and my mix includes (drum role please) Oak Meadow, Handwriting WIthout Tears, A Beka, and a bit of Montessori methods added in. I couldn't be more pleased with my hodgepodge approach. I simply love that I can pick and choose what I feel is best for my Alexander (as long as he is fulfilling Texas state requirements). What fun!

We've had many, many birthdays. I am glad that the run of parties is over. I enjoy giving the experience to my children, but I end up just doing way to much! 

Mommy & Me is about to start again, so currently it is paint, paint, paint and clean, clean, clean. I am super excited to venture into our second year. Again, I get to throw out what didn't work and add what I stumble upon that would be just perfect  (like these). 

Our summer consisted of many weeks of swim lessons (that resulted in a gift of goggles at the end for a job well done! Hooray, Alexander!), Taekwondo (and might I add the 'Student of the Month' for Mr. Alexander), the zoo, a fantastic VBS, my baptism (yay!), lemonade stands, and A LOT of family fun! Just perfect!

Well, I'm beginning to see the light!

Man, after a week of being at home, I am ready to get outside and have some fun! Alexander's fever finally broke today! Phew!!!!! We needed to get outside and stretch our legs... all of us! So, we started the day with a walk. Benj went off to work and I managed to get the out-of-sync crew together for a walk/stroller ride/bike ride. Alexander peddled down one alley and then decided that he had enough! I'm impressed that his body could even muster the energy to do that considering it had been aching all week!

Before the walk, Alexander counted his money in his piggy (Mater) bank. He is focused on purchasing a model train set and I have been trying to get the point across that they cost close to $200! Well, this doesn't phase him at all considering Mama and Papa have little plastic cards that buy all sorts of things! I explained to him that we spend our money on necessary items such as food, clothing, gas, etc... and I am hoping that the idea will stick with him and one day make sense. So, we began counting his money. BIG lesson!

In the end, he realized that he needed to earn $197.(and some odd cents) in order to purchase the train set... and we had an impromptu lesson about money. Moments like these remind me why I choose to stay home with my kids and take the time to teach them!

We ended the day with a family picnic at a revamped playground. Beautiful! We needed that!

Then once all the kiddos were tucked into bed, Benj and I enjoyed an awesome documentary. I am thrilled to have stubbled upon such a great show! http://www.lordsaveusthemovie.com/home.html

On our toes

Don't forget friends, I do everything in spurts (including blogging). I feel as though I haven't done a thing creative or productive in the past week (beyond laundry, dishes, toilets, etc...). 

Then I must remind myself that we are home bound due to a nasty fever that won't leave Alexander! He is on day 5. This virus is one that we recognize. It made it's way through our friends and we were due for a visit. And so it's here... and so I feel as though a life of PJ's and netflix will never end. 

We started off the summer strong.... swim lessons, taekwondo, chasing hermit crabs at the beach, sunburns... but now it's hunkering down inside the air conditioning, drinking lots of water, elderberry, and sleep. That's been the great thing about this virus, my Alexander wants to sleep! When healthy, he never takes a nap... but he's been asleep at 1pm each day since Sunday!

And my little Andy... my 7 month old wonder who is taking over this house! He is interested in life and on the move! He is doing everything at a much earlier age than the 2 other children. I'm a bit nervous of the activity to come! On Monday, Andy climbed (and fell) into the bathtub, hit his head at least 5 times, enjoyed a good meal of grout and chenille pom-poms (I fished them out before they went into his stomach), and delighted in crawling all over his brother and sister. The common words are no longer, "Awwww, Andy", but are now,"No, Andy!"

 

Back to Business

Ok... we are online again! Yes, these few weeks have been FULL of adventures. Big and little decisions have been made! Projects and crafts have been completed! Plans have been made!

Today, we spent some time at The Brownsville Children's Museum. Such a great place. 

Here is my super crawler/climber! 

 And my other two who are ready to pack up and get out of this joint!

Changes

Papa is off on a new adventure!

 He wishes it was on a motorcycle!  This was pictured on the way to the airport... his real adventure is training for a new job. Unfortunately, he'll be gone for an undesirable amount of time. That makes us a sad household. He's a necessary piece to our pack!

Here we are dropping him off on at the airport on a RGV rainy day. Unfortunately, the picture was taken hastily and resulted in a fuzzy picture. Oh well, it will have to do! Our #5 was snoozing in the van... we decided to let him sleep. 

After arriving home from the airport, I spruced up my clay table in the garage. Alexander also organized his work bench and ended up creating this piece of art. He has appropriately titled it 'Waterfall'.

 

We spent the morning exploring. I must admit though... I am trudging through it. My heart keeps me moving forward.. offering activities and positive experiences to the kids... BUT my body and brain are TIRED! I'm due for a little break where I can re-energize. All I need is a few hours all to myself! Ahhhh... that sounds glorious right about now. 

I heard an amazing segment from NPR about childhood imagination and the influence that TV and toys have had on a child's creativity, imagination, and executive functioning. What a great segment... you should read it:

NPR

Well, then I was reassured when my kids accomplished this:

Turtles from our recycling.

And this:

Stick and mud houses. 

I think I'll go make a cup of coffee!

Recreate

These kids are watching our every move. It's fun to see them imitate...

This is his saw. Have I mentioned that he's only 4? Yes, he received a lengthy lesson on how to use a saw. He also has a list of rules that pertain to it's use . He respects this tool. He also respects us and uses it properly (thankfully!). If you ask him what he wants to do when he grows up, he will tell you that he wants to be a Lumberjack! We aren't sure where he came up with this idea, but you better believe that we've shared a few youtube Lumberjack competitions with him. Talk about entertainment! 

In this picture, Alexander is cutting the log to stack for firewood.  He was yearning for a campfire (missing the wood stoves in NH) and, indeed, we had one. After bath and PJ's, Alexander and Elizabeth cuddled with Papa next to the fire for their bedtime book. As I write this, I can't help but feel a bit like Laura Ingalls Wilder (just for a moment)...

Earlier in the day, I witnessed Alexander recreate a lesson from our Mommy & Me class. Last week, I scattered my recycling in the school yard for the children to pick up. I was emphasizing keeping our environment beautiful for Earth day. We then planted flowers to add to that beauty. Well... today after lunch Alexander had an idea. He went to our recycling pantry to pull out some goodies, went into the back yard to 'hide' the trash, and then gave each of us a bag so that we could go and collect it. It was like an Easter egg hunt and almost as exciting! 

 

He then wanted to plant some seeds to make our backyard look more beautiful. Elizabeth joined in. 

 

And this is how he entertained himself today! Some people may find nothing in it, but I find worlds of joy in this simple play!

Creating for our Home and the Classroom

I'm definitely a sucker for making things by hand. I often take the arduous route in a task. This has it's up and down sides. I like the feeling of an object when it is original, made with love, and simply beautiful. I shy away from things made from unnatural fibers. I just happen to like the feeling and smells of cottons, linens, woods, and wools. Now this isn't to say that the other side doesn't exist in my house. But, I try to keep a healthy balance. Now that I've stated my case, here are a couple of beauties that I made the other day that do, indeed, contain a bit of polyester in them.... I couldn't resist the pattern... the dragonflies, stars, and color fit perfectly in my living room. I said a healthy balance!

 Alexander and Elizabeth both agree that the star buttons are their favorite things about the pillows. 

And for my Mommy & Me classroom, a needle felted Mama & Papa to celebrate Mother's Day. They will be living in a deluxe wooden doll house surrounded by curious little hands.

Without the detail on the face, children are able to incorporate their own detailing through imagination. This definitely encourages a positive brain development that will benefit the child in their future. Instead of filling them with images, we provide them the space to create and learn. 

If I organize my day correctly, then this Mama will soon be holding a baby in her arms.  

Ahhhh.... It just looks so gorgeous! I received this little jewel from my sister-in-law and her mother. They are both trained bargain hunters. I believe that her mom found this piece of pottery at a garage sale. Well, I love it no matter where it came from. For one, I think it is just beautiful. But, the real reason is that my own mother (who passed away almost 9 years ago) used to collect this same pattern ( I think it's Frankoma). I grew up looking at this pottery. It is imprinted in my memory forever. I crawled, toddled, danced, and ate around it. And now I have a delightful piece to hold my Texas roses. 

 

My sister-in-law and I spent the day at the zoo today. We brought one extra mom... so we had a total of 7 children 5 & under. It was a such a pleasant day (even if we did choose the most crowded day EVER)!

Before long, it will be too hot to do anything out doors. The Texas 100's are creeping up on us!

On your marks, get set....

He's up on his knees! That little Andy is going to be my most active child. From the first kick in the womb, he's been my mover! Here he is getting ready to move around the world:

And I tried to get a picture by natural light, but notice how much he was moving!

 

Oh no! Crash landing!

Time to baby proof for the third time!